Dock Outfitters in Seaside Heights reports that the great striped bass and bluefish action that anglers have been enjoying for the past several weeks in the surf has slowed way down. There is still plenty of bait in the water, but it seems that there are fewer fish chasing them. Fortunately, the number of fluke in the surf has been on the rise. With the special regulations at Island Beach State Park for summer flounder that are now in effect, it is much easier to catch a keeper fluke to take home for dinner. Anglers fishing from shore at Island Beach State Park now have a 16-inch minimum size limit for their fish. Their daily bag limit, however, is just two fish of 16-inches or larger. John Yac at Dock Outfitters recommends finding “the cuts and drop offs in the surf line and presenting your baits as naturally as possible.” The best presentation from the beach is a teaser rig with a bucktail at the end. Tip the bucktail and the teaser with either Gulp baits or squid strips for the best action. Cast the rigs out as far as possible and then slowly retrieve.

FORKED RIVER-BARNEGAT INLET

The ocean action for striped bass has slowed down quite a bit for the captains who have been doing well on them for the past few weeks. Captain Raymond Lopez and his first mate Liane on the boat “Miss Liane” reports fishing off Island Beach State Park with bunker spoons and getting a few knockdowns but no fish. They did manage to hook up with an 8-foot thresher shark that weighed estimated 175-pounds. Mate Liane Lopez reeled the fish to the boat, and after taking a good look, they released the big fish. There are fluke around the bay waters, and some good catches are being made when the winds and tide cooperate. Captain Alex Majewski of Lighthouse Sportfishing had no charters last weekend but did manage to get out on the water. He fished with his wife on Saturday and by himself on Sunday. He reports throwing back about a dozen shorts and boxed a couple of fluke to 21-inches. Captain Brett Taylor of Reel Reaction Sportfishing had Ian Habich and his wife Tracey out on an afternoon bay charter off Waretown. Despite a strong wind, they jigged some prime locations and landed close to 30 fish with 3 keepers up to 5.5 pounds. Capt. Brett reports they fished with bucktails, and he was impressed with how strong the bites were. At the tail end of the trip he tried to locate some blowfish but found them in short supply. The head boats out of Barnegat Light are reporting some very nice black sea bass on the wrecks and reefs. The quantity of fish is not real high, but the sizes of the fish are notable.

BARNEGAT LIGHT TO BEACH HAVEN

Andy Tonnesen from Tony’s Bait and Tackle in Manahawkin sums the bay fishing in this area up best, “Fluking in our bays is very, very good.” Andy recommends that anglers fish light both in weights and in line. He points out that the bays inside Long Beach Island are shallow and not much lead is needed to get on the bottom. He is advising anglers to use small bucktails, shad darts, or jig heads with the right bait to produce bag limits. He likes Gulp, fresh spearing, and live minnows. For his boating customers who like to fish in the ocean he is turning them on to thresher sharks. He says they are in close to the beach feeding on the bunker pods. He recommends snagging a bunker, putting it on a large hook with wire leader, and then “holding on.” Good places to look for fluke include Double Creek and Oyster Creek Channels in Barnegat Light, the Middle Grounds and along the ICW in Beach Haven, and the ICW and Marshelder Channel off Holgate. Margaret O’Brien of Jingles Bait and Tackle in Beach Haven weighed in an 8-pound, 7-ounce doormat for 12 year old Matthew Williams of Roebling. He caught the fish on a minnow and white Gulp bait that he was drifting down by the old Coast Guard Station. On the beach scene O’Brien says there is action on some bluefish, lots of short fluke, a few bass, and lots of sharks “with and without” teeth.

HOLGATE TO GREAT BAY

There are still some very good numbers of fluke to be found in the Great Bay waters. Anglers are limiting out around the clam stakes, around the old fish factory, and along the ICW. It seems that there may be a few more throwbacks being caught than in previous weeks, but anglers are still boasting about all of the big fish they are catching. Fluke 20-22 inches are common, and the fillets from these fish make for some very good meals. Anglers must be aware of the movement of the tide as well as the wind direction. The outgoing tide has been producing the best so winds more from the west are the most helpful. Many of the larger fluke will gather together in pockets so it is critical that when you pick up a nice fluke you make sure to drift the same spot again and again until things slow down. Very often boaters have been able to limit out by making very short drifts over the same area which keep producing action on every drift. In addition to the fluke, there are still some small bluefish racing around, but not in the numbers that there were in recent weeks. The striped bass bite has dropped to almost nothing. There are some scattered reports of weakfish being caught in the mouth of the Mullica River very early in the morning. These fish are easily spooked so it is important to get there early and to be quiet. Fishing where creeks empty out of the marshes are good places to look for these fish. Although there have been shark sightings in the bay, there have been no documented catches yet. That night brown shark fishery in Grassy Channel should be starting very shortly.